Winter Returns

Chapter 212 "Zorro" (Thanks to reader 160823000129771 for the patronage)
"...The plan is over." Du Kang took a step forward. "The seniors will go first."

"Don't go!" Xu Zhiruo shouted, her eyes, which were already large, now widened to their limit. "So you guys were all playing me! Brother Wood, Brother Poker, and Brother Sha! None of you are good people!"

"Hey, wait a minute, why am I Brother Sha?" Du Kang weakly raised his hand.

"That Sha Wujing from Journey to the West, the one who always says 'Eldest Brother is right, Second Brother makes sense,' 'That's so true, Master,'" Xu Zhiruo said irritably. "I already said we were out on a date, how else do you want to deny it?"

Du Kang and Qing Yi looked at each other and then fell silent.

Just then, the phone rang. Du Kang felt a chill run down his spine because Xu Zhiruo's first words were:

"Hey, Qiu Mian, are you almost there? I'm on the second floor, um, I'm shopping right now. It's too noisy here, I'll call you back later..."

It seems this junior student still left herself a way out.

Du Kang looked in Zhang Shutong's direction again and saw the girl beside him stand up.

……

"I need to use the restroom?"

"Okay," Zhang Shutong said. "Leave the bag here, I'll keep an eye on it."

Once Su Yunzhi had walked away, he let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat tired.

I didn't have a moment's rest all morning.

Looking at the time, it was already... Zhang Shutong realized that his phone wasn't in his pocket; it must have been under his backpack.

Zhang Shutong pulled out his phone, and the first thing he saw was a missed call from Du Kang. He was about to call back when...

"Shutong!"

Zhang Shutong wondered why the iPhone not only had a bad signal, but also had a microphone that leaked sound.
Ok.

He turned his head and stared speechlessly at the two familiar figures:
How did you find us?

Zhang Shutong's gaze passed over his two best friends and then fell on Xu Zhiruo at the end, somewhat surprised. When did the three of them get together?
"Shutong, hurry up and try to deny it!" Du Kang pointed to the gift box at his feet.

"What are you trying to argue about?"

"We've been completely exposed!" Du Kang said, heartbroken. "From the bus to the mall, we saw the whole thing. I'm not trying to be mean, Shu Tong, but this is really unfair of you. You shouldn't give so many gifts. And what about Gu Qiu Mian..."

"Wait, what are you guys thinking?"

Zhang Shutong looked at the aggressive secretary, who seemed as if he had stolen an important asset of the Mianmian Group.

"Be honest."

"give up."

"Stop it."

"Wang!"

"What is all this nonsense?" Zhang Shutong sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“It’s not too late to run now. I’ll just say one thing,” Du Kang said in a low voice, “Gu Qiu Mian will be here soon.”

"Oh, I know that."

The atmosphere became quiet again.

The three of them stared at Zhang Shutong in astonishment, their mouths practically agape.

"What's going on? I'm completely confused... You mean Gu Qiumian knew you were at the mall today?"

"Correct."

Zhang Shutong slowly unscrewed a bottle of mineral water.

"So you knew you two bought such a huge amount of stuff?"

"of course."

Du Kang couldn't help but glance at Xu Zhiruo.

Xu Zhiruo quietly retreated behind the crowd.

"I'm almost dizzy, so what exactly have you been busy with, Shutong? You've been acting all mysterious since this morning!" Du Kang asked, confused.

"Uh..." Zhang Shutong asked again and again, "You really want to know?"

The three nodded in unison.

He sighed:

"Curiosity killed the cat. Never mind, don't blame me for being cruel."

As everyone held their breath, Zhang Shutong first pointed to the first gift box containing books:

"This is called 'The Taboo of the Fierce Bird,' a previous work by the author of 'The Thing Without a Head' that Qingyi recently read. It was also a Christmas gift to him."

Qingyi was taken aback.

Zhang Shutong then pointed to the bag containing the music box:

"This is for Ruoping. To be honest, I hadn't decided what to buy, but Senior Su said that girls can't resist something that can light up and make a sound."

"What about the bell? It can't be for me, can it?" Du Kang interjected.

"For the dog."

Xu Zhiruo almost burst out laughing. The three of them looked at her silently, and the girl quickly shrank her head.

“Come here,” Zhang Shutong wasn’t afraid of the puppy. He called out to Zorro and scratched its chin. “Didn’t you say its fur was too dark and you often couldn’t find it at night? The bell was for it. Oh, and these gloves are for…”

"So you and that senior student looked like you were shopping, but you were actually picking out gifts for us?" Qingyi asked, unusually surprised.

"Of course, she helped me with a lot of things, and I'm very grateful to her."

Du Kang and Qing Yi exchanged a glance, their faces burning.

“Come and get it yourself,” Zhang Shutong rolled her eyes. “I even brought my bag out today, thinking I’d give it to you guys for Christmas. Now look what’s happened, the surprise is gone.”

"Hey buddy, haha," Du Kang laughed awkwardly, "it's really not that Qingyi and I doubted you, we've always believed in you!"

Qingyi nodded quickly.

“It’s all her fault for bewitching the troops,” Du Kang said, turning around and muttering, “Junior, why did you have to suspect things for no reason? I told you, this was part of the plan…”

But Xu Zhiruo was nowhere to be seen behind him.

"Hey, where is she?"

"They've already slipped away from the bubble tea shop," Qingyi pointed.

"Hey, don't run away!" If they weren't in a shopping mall, Du Kang would have unleashed his dog to chase her back, but now, as soon as he reached the entrance of the milk tea shop, the girl had already dashed off into the distance.

"Uh, what's wrong with her? Why did she suddenly come here?" Du Kang stopped in his tracks.

"I ordered four milk teas for you as an apology," the auntie at the milk tea shop said calmly. "Take care, young man."

"Alright, alright," Du Kang sighed, carrying the milk tea back to the bench. "It's good that the misunderstanding is cleared up. So, how are we going to have lunch? Are we going to find Miss Gu? Or should Qingyi and I treat us?"

"We'll talk about it later, let's leave first."

Zhang Shutong stood up.

"what?"

Du Kang's first reaction was, "Was everything you just said just a delaying tactic to appease Xu Zhiruo?"
Zhang Shutong waved to Su Yunzhi's approaching figure in the distance, then turned around and said:

"Today isn't all about shopping. She's going back at noon. She came here to see the two fox statues. Let's go to the base first."

On the bus, Zhang Shutong explained to his two best friends what had happened in the tunnel.

"So that's how it is." Du Kang suddenly realized, "You've been asking Senior Su to investigate the legend of the fox?"

"Yeah. She just happens to be really interested, and that's what she chose for her club project this semester. She suggested coming over this weekend." Zhang Shutong waved her phone. "I also need to ask her for help, so we'll team up."

"This is a classic case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple," Du Kang lamented repeatedly.

Not long ago, he and Qingyi had already exchanged greetings.

The girl named Su Yunzhi was only a year older than everyone else, but she had a much more mature demeanor. She first exclaimed in surprise:

"It's you, the boy behind the restaurant counter that day."

Du Kang blushed and quickly apologized, explaining that he had secretly taken a picture of someone behind the counter and had been caught, causing him considerable embarrassment.

“I remember you too, what a coincidence.” Su Yunzhi smiled and looked at Qingyi, teasingly saying, “The guy who recommended the restaurant to me the other day, it turns out you two are good friends, no wonder you were so enthusiastic.”

Now it was Qingyi's turn to lose face. Being a shill isn't scary; what's scary is being discovered.

During their second meeting with Su Yunzhi, although she always had a smile on her face and spoke softly, they felt that the girl had completely taken control of the conversation.

Although she felt guilty, fortunately, Senior Su was beautiful and kind-hearted, and didn't mind the two boys' embarrassing moment, laughing it off.

"What a good man," Du Kang said.

"That's impressive," Qingyi said.

"They're really doing well, aren't they?" Du Kang asked, puzzled.

"Doesn't this contradict what I said?" Qingyi asked, puzzled.

The two looked at each other, both feeling that the other was beyond redemption.

Anyway, that's how it happened. The four of them were drinking milk tea on the bus when they arrived at the bus stop. Seven or eight minutes later, they walked to the "base".

In front of the abandoned drainage tunnel, the cold wind blew back, sounding like the howls of lonely ghosts.

"key?"

"Qingyi has one."

"then."

Zhang Shutong opened the safe door. The safe had originally been broken, but they had recently had a lock installed to guard against the man in the basement.

Zhang Shutong turned to the side:
"It's right here, but it's best not to take pictures."

"Okay." Su Yunzhi squatted down curiously and poked the fox's face.

While she was examining the fox statue, the others were dividing up the gifts.

Zhang Shutong looked at the packaging box she had specially chosen with a touch of heartache:
"I knew I shouldn't have wrapped it up, since you're all going to unpack it tonight anyway."

"Sorry, sorry, I promise I won't throw the box away, I absolutely won't waste your hard work," Du Kang chuckled, waving the gift box in front of Zorro, the copper bells inside jingling. "Your uncle bought it for you, thank you uncle, I'll put it on you when we get home tonight."

The little black dog barked twice, its tail wagging happily.

"Watch your words." Zhang Shutong said, his face darkening.

"These gloves were bought for Gu Qiu Mian, right?" Du Kang asked again. "Why are you giving them to me?"

"what?"

"Didn't you buy this for Gu Qiu Mian?"

"When did I say I bought it for her?" "Wait..."

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, and the two remained silent for a second.

Du Kang raised his arm:

"Stop, let me sort this out, buddy. You went out shopping today to buy gifts for us. Not counting that string of candied hawthorns, you bought four things in total. The three of us plus Gu Qiumian, that makes four, right?"

"No." Zhang Shutong immediately denied it.

"Th-then what is this...?"

"I bought it for you." Zhang Shutong asked curiously, "I can't have bought them all proper gifts and only given you a dog bell, so you're the only one with two."

“Although I’m very touched that you gave me two gifts, Shutong,” Du Kang’s cold sweat broke out again. He pointed to the girl in the white dress squatting in front of the safe and whispered, “But I have a question that’s been on my mind for a long time. But I was too embarrassed to ask just now because the atmosphere was a bit off. Um, when Senior Su said not to let 'her' find out, who exactly is this 'her' she is referring to?”
"Gu Qiu Mian."

It’s over.

Du Kang gazed at the sky.

……

"Qiu Mian, I ran into senior Zhang Shutong today."

In a restaurant on the third floor of the mall, two girls sat in a booth by the window, and Xu Zhiruo secretly observed Gu Qiumian's reaction.

"Hmm." Gu Qiumian was casually flipping through the menu. "I know, he's probably here to pick out gifts for his friends."

"Why don't we invite the senior to have a meal together?"

“I mentioned it once,” Gu Qiumian said, pursing her rosy lips. “But this person said he had to leave after buying things, that he was so busy he didn’t even have time for lunch, so whatever, I don’t want to bother with him.”

"So, you know he came to buy gifts with other people?" Xu Zhiruo deliberately emphasized the word "other people."

"I know, what's wrong? You've been acting strange ever since that phone call," Gu Qiumian asked curiously, then lowered her eyes. "This pudding is pretty good, wanna try some?"

"Two servings, please!" Xu Zhiruo generously held up one finger, secretly relieved. She thought to herself that her journey with them hadn't been in vain; she felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders and had fulfilled her mission. She chuckled, "It's nothing, we just bumped into them. I thought there was something going on between him and that senior..."

"What senior?"

Gu Qiumian slammed the menu shut.

what? What?
Xu Zhiruo thought to herself, "Don't you know everything, my young lady? So you don't know anything at all. Where did that knowing look go?"

She hesitated and said:

"Uh, it's that friend I was just talking about, oh right, he's from the city..."

Gu Qiumian frowned and said:

"I know he's a friend from the city, but when did he get a senior from high school?"

"What exactly did he say to you?" Xu Zhiruo finally grasped the crux of the problem.

"I told you a friend came to the island and wanted to see the foxes..." Gu Qiumian changed her words, "Anyway, there were some things to discuss."

"That's all?"

"He said it was a girl he met by chance some time ago."

"Then what do you think?"

"I think it's fairly normal," Gu Qiumian thought for a moment. "They're just collaborating on some things, and they told me about it beforehand. So, is it the same person you're talking about?"

"should be……"

"Oh." Gu Qiumian nodded, then opened the menu again. "Would you like the caramel or blueberry pudding?"

Xu Zhiruo was taken aback, then wondered why her aunt wasn't reacting. She tentatively asked:
Aren't you going to ask?

"They haven't known each other for very long, so I'm too lazy to ask."

Gu Qiumian snorted and then waved to the waiter.

She smiled and behaved with grace, which made Xu Zhiruo secretly click her tongue in amazement. She thought to herself that Qiu Mian was indeed a young lady of high birth, and she would never have such poise and confidence.

Xu Zhiruo hesitated for a moment:
There's something I'm not sure if I should say...

"Say it, you're about to burst with pent-up emotions." Gu Qiumian rolled her eyes.

"Don't you think it's strange that he and another girl picked out a gift for you?"

"what gift?"

Xu Zhiruo was stunned again:
"He didn't pick one out for you today?"

Gu Qiumian snorted:

"They're all things from the mall, why would he buy them again and give them to me?"

That's a big deal.

Xu Zhiruo recalled the conversation she had overheard, and her expression turned serious:
"Qiu Mian, don't look at the menu yet, I have something very, very important to tell you!"

While Gu Qiu Mian blinked, Xu Zhiruo had already blurted out:
"...His senior secretly gave him something, and specifically told him not to let you find out!"

"What did you give me?"

"I saw it clearly, it was a very long box, probably for a necklace or something. The thing is, I remember that box. It's the same box you often buy from the limited edition pendants at the general bookstore in the city. I'm not exaggerating. When the senior asked, 'Why are you so nervous?' the senior said, 'Of course!'"

After she finished speaking, she stared nervously at Gu Qiumian's face.

To everyone's surprise, Gu Qiumian burst out laughing the next second:
“You’re making a fuss over nothing,” she said, shaking her fair fingers. “Think about it: first, if you’re going to give a boy something, why give him a necklace? Second, if you’re going to give it to him secretly, you should do it after you meet him or before he leaves. He might already be wearing it. Why would you only remember to give it to him halfway through shopping?”

"It seems that's really the case?" Xu Zhiruo said awkwardly, "I was the one who spoke ill of someone, so what did that sentence mean? Wait, the necklace..."

The girl slapped her forehead:
"It's not for you, is it?"

……

"So it was a gift you asked your senior to bring from the city," Du Kang said, relieved. "I thought it was some kind of love token."

"What are you thinking?" Zhang Shutong said helplessly. "A young lady like her might not be interested in the things on the island. I remember she used to like to go to that bookstore to buy hair accessories. Ruoping also asked me to buy some for her. I searched for them on the website and found a suitable one, but when I found it, the sales period was about to end. I really couldn't get away, so I had to ask my senior to bring it over for me. It's that simple."

"The main problem was that what you were saying back then was very ambiguous, like not wanting to be found out..."

"Well," Zhang Shutong thought for a moment, "I don't really understand either. Maybe it means keeping the contents of the gift a secret and not revealing it before Christmas?"

Du Kang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

……

Xu Zhiruo felt like she was on a rollercoaster of emotions. She slumped onto the table, exhausted, and said:

"I should have asked first. It's my fault, I felt so embarrassed at the time, so I ran back first..."

What puzzled her was that Gu Qiumian, who should have been alert when her senior was mentioned, didn't react much. But now that the gift the senior had prepared for her was mentioned, her expression turned cold when she should have been happy.

"So," Gu Qiumian said, enunciating each word clearly, "the Christmas present he prepared for me was picked out by another girl?"

"Hey, Qiu Mian, calm down," the secretary quickly advised. "It's already good enough that Brother Wood is sending you something; don't expect anything else."

The aloof girl stamped her little boots:
"Ugh, why is this person so annoying? I don't need that chain..."

"Don't get angry, don't get angry, getting angry will cause wrinkles!"

"it is good."

Gu Qiu Mian merely narrowed her eyes, revealing a bright smile:
"Surprise is surprise, Zhiruo, let's eat first. As for him..."

"I'll see him at Christmas."

……

"Don't worry, she won't be found out." The wind was strong in the wild, and Zhang Shutong suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose. "I didn't even leave the island, how could she possibly guess what the gift is?"

Unless it's a continuous autumn rain, that's the case.

Du Kang moved his lips, but in the end he just patted Zorro's head:
"I can't hold it in any longer, why don't you give me a shout?"

"Wang!"

At this moment, Su Yunzhi stood up and called out from afar:
"Junior, I'm rooting for you?"

"Oh," Zhang Shutong glanced at the time, "Are you getting ready to leave?"

"Yeah, I've made plans with some friends tonight. Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, so we're going to have some fun. I need to go home and catch up on some sleep."

"Let me see you off. I've been in trouble lately."

"It's alright," Su Yunzhi said softly. "I'll ask an uncle to look into the matter you want to investigate, including your teacher's wife's teachers and classmates from back then. They might know what happened, but there might not be any results. Be prepared."

"I know, thank you," Zhang Shutong said earnestly.

“I never expected the third fox to appear so early…” The senior student touched her lips lightly with her finger and said with narrowed eyes, “So, someone knew this secret much earlier than we did.”

Then she put her hands behind her back and smiled:
"But I'm really curious about what the third fox will look like. I hope it will be good-looking."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shutong thought to herself, "Women are indeed creatures of appearance. The senior student thought the smiling fox was too ugly and put it aside after just one glance, but she held the sad fox in her hand and looked at it again and again, loving it and saying it was so cute."

If this thing hadn't been so eerie, and if Zhang Shutong hadn't subtly hinted at it, she probably would have taken it home as a decorative item.

At that moment, the senior student placed the statue of the sad fox into the safe. She stood up, stretching out her beautiful curves:
Shall we all go together?

"Oh, I won't go then," Du Kang said hastily. Despite Su's gentle demeanor, he was finding it difficult to handle her. "Qingyi and I are going for a bike ride. Shutong, let's part ways halfway."

"Alright then." Zhang Shutong nodded.

Du Kang locked the safe. Shu Tong hadn't fully explained the purpose of this thing to Senior Su, so in her eyes it was just a statue related to the island's beliefs. But for the group of them, they had already experienced the power of this thing.

So he locked it with several locks, and then carefully shook it to make sure there was no sign of it being opened.

"Woof woof ...!"

The puppy, only a few months old, suddenly stared intently at the safe, lay down on all fours, and let out a frantic bark that echoed across the open field.

The group was startled.

"Zorro, what are you yelling about? How can shaking the safe scare you?" Du Kang came to his senses and was about to kick it away when a fair hand touched the top of its head first.

"What are you yelling about, little one?"

As expected of Senior Su, she even showed a gentle smile to a small dog.

Sure enough, Zorro let out a whimper and immediately lay down on the ground, no longer making a sound.

Du Kang tilted his head and laughed, scolding:
"You little brat, you're selective about who you treat?"

"Du Kang, come lend a hand," Qingyi called out from afar. "The gift box for wrapping the book is too big. I'm afraid I'll break it. Let's put it in Shutong's bag first and help support the bag..."

"Here it comes, here it comes, why don't you put mine in too..." Du Kang hurriedly stepped forward.

But he didn't see that the puppy wasn't obedient at all; instead, it was shivering in the cold wind.

As the wind blew, a pool of yellow liquid gradually spread across the cold frozen ground.

(End of this chapter)